Winter on Stevens Pass

when winter comes to the Pacific Northwest it wraps the Cascade mountain range in a snowy Embrace on the railroad there is no hibernation when the days get short and the nights grow cold [Music] welcome to Washington State and the former great northern's fabled line over Stevens Pass the first two months of 2020 saw a barrage of winter storms relentlessly pounding bnsf's Scenic subdivision this provided the perfect setting for capturing trains in punishing winter [Music] conditions on the west side we will visit the historic Great Northern Town of skyish climb through the forested hillsides around the Foss River Trestle Snowshoe into deception Creek as well as Scenic and the West bore of the 7.8 M long Cascade tunnel on the east side trains re-enter the winter setting at the East portal near burn and dropped down a stiff 2.2% descending grade to Merit near Winton the scenic subdivision flies over the wachi river finally leaving the snow Zone behind we will tour the former railroad town of lenworth which has been transformed into a Bavarian village where Christmas lights stay on for most of the winter bundle up and get ready for a chilling railroad Adventure as 7 idea Productions presents winter on Stevens Pass today's winter Journey takes us into the Cascade mountain range in Northwestern Washington State the main line we will be covering is a section of bnsf's Scenic subdivision between goldar and lenworth part of the railroad's Northwest division the Stevens Pass route handles Northern transcon Intermodal traffic between Chicago and the West Coast as well as eastbound empty coal and oil trains from terminals such as Roberts Bank BC and Cherry Point in Washington a regional manifest between Spokane and Everett makes a regular appearance as well as Amtrak trains seven and8 the Seattle sections of the Empire Builder the Western approach to Steven's Pass is gradual at first following the easy course of the skyish river into the foothills of the Cascades these lower elevations see a great deal of precipitation mostly in the form of rain skyc wish is often considered the start to the snow Zone but during our two visits in January and February of 2020 the snow level often dropped well below that giving us the opportunity to bring you winter scenes as far west as [Music] goldar our starting point will be index a horseshoe curve over the North Fork of the skyish river the grade is around 1% as trains continue through bearing lessening to around 1/2% through Miller River and into skyish a former helper Baye at the bottom of the heavy grade over Steven's Pass we will spend some extra time at this remote community that can often find itself isolated and without power during the winter months due to road closures from excess snow slides and down trees east of Scott Kish the grade increases to 2.2% as the railroad angles through the fos River Canyon charting a course above the Thai river through scenic the grade lessens for East bounds to 1.77% as trains enter the 7.8m long Cascade tunnel passing under Cowboy mountain and Big Chief Mountain it was the longest railway tunnel in North America until the mount McDonald tunnel was completed in 1988 in British Columbia Canada on Rogers Pass that tunnel is 9.1 M long trains Crest the summit of Stevens Pass inside inside the Cascade tunnel at an elevation of 2,881 Ft before exiting the East portal near burn from there eastbound experience a 2.2% descent for around 6 Mi to Meritt following n Creek near Winton the rails leave the original alignment through Tumwater Canyon for a course along chumstick Creek and on to lenworth where we wrap up our winter tour the fiery light of a winter Dawn ignites the Western foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state extending from British Columbia South through Washington Oregon and into Northern California the Cascades are but a small fragment of a volcanic Arc that forms the Western backbone of North Central and South America moisture off the Pacific Ocean is deposited in large quantities with with Western Washington receiving an average of 66 in of rain each year in the Cascade Mountains that amounts to 200 in of snow annually this spectacular winter setting surrounds a small community in snow homish County named index nestled at the base of giant 500t tall Granite Cliffs known as the index Town walls the small community was founded in 1889 it started as a homestead which later became a hotel for Prospectors and surveyors during a gold strike that same year the town offers seasonal outdoor recreation for hikers kayakers and rock climbers James J Hills Great Northern Railway was up and running through index in 1893 today the through trust bridge over the North Fork of the skyish river carries BNSF Trains index got its name from nearby Mount index a dramatic Landmark located 3 Mi to the South it's 5,991 ft Summit Towers over 4,000 ft above the surrounding terrain on the railroad index is simply a horseshoe curve with a bridge between the sightings of goldar and bearing westbound Amtrak 7 the Seattle section of the Empire Builder heads through the scene [Music] the cool winter sunlight is long in reaching the water's edge on the canyon floor keeping the railroad in the shadows for a good part of the day amra 7 met an eastbound stack train at goldar and it isn't long before BNSF 749 8 East can be heard blowing for a grade crossing just north of the [Music] bridge stack trains like this often operate in distributed power in a 2x2 configuration the all GE lineup includes two es44 DCS on the point a3d es44dc number 7342 plus es44 C4 number 6740 power the rear of the Train by remote control [Music] the winter of 2020 brought heavy rain in snow to the Washington Cascades and with it an increased threat of flooding down trees slides and wash outs a work Trin powered by a former Burlington Northern gp50 and GP 38-2 head through bearing with nine loads of rock in air dump Cars Plus two loads of ballast in Hoppers a former BN Caboose brings up the rear of this work train although now officially designated as a shoving platform the railroad continues East through the Mount Baker naly National Forest following the South Fork of the skyish river US Highway 2 roughly follows the same course through the dense forest on the west side of Stevens's pass the thick forest can make photographing trains on the scenic subdivision a challenge wide sweeping pistas are replaced with naturally framed scenes like this one at money Creek Campground just west of skyish a westbound smokane to Everett manifest crosses the South Fork of the skyish river on a cool Winter's morning west of skyish along the old Cascade Highway a spur track angles off the scenic subdivision near mile poost 1734 although it does not appear on current timetables this is Miller River the spur terminates a little beyond the grade crossing as does the old Cascade Highway which is closed at the bridge as we shot this scene the railroad was temporarily closed due to a slide between skyish and Scenic a ballast train was dispatched to the slide but its load of rock had Frozen and could not be dumped BNSF 888363 takes the loaded drain back West toward Everett the former BN Caboose number 12529 was used to protect the rear of the train as it backed up the hill toward the slide it disappears on the curved bridge over the Miller River the sign welcoming visitors to Sky Kish proudly proclaims its Great Northern Roots this remote Community is located roughly 50 Mi east of Everett Washington it was identified by railroad surveyors as the first flat spot west of Stevens Pass and for a while carried that name the rails came in 1892 along with another name Malone's siding the following year a post office was established and the flat spot on the West Side of the Mountain was incorporated as skyish once a busy helper base on the GN and later the BN it continues into the 21st century as a base for maintenance of whey a white track exists near the East End of the small town and the 8,949 Ft siding is commonly used by dispatchers for holding eastbound trains until they have a clear shot to the summit of Stevens Pass this morning an eastbound cold train is waiting for two West bounds this approaching manifest and Amtrak 7 BNSF 7591 West leads another Spokan to Everett manifest through town w Sky Kish sits in an elevation of 928 ft and is situated at the bottom of the 2.2% climb up the west side of Stevens Pass when the railroad was first completed a series of eight switchbacks zigged and zagged over the mountains with grades of up to 4% until the first Cascade tunnel was completed in 1900 the historic GN Depot was built in 1894 and served passengers until the 1950s it replaced the original Depot which was nothing more than a box car the building has been moved more than once in its lifetime and currently resides on the south side of the tracks a smallscale live steam railroad runs around the depot but its tracks are currently invisible buried in the snow [Applause] a late running Amtrak 7 Glides through the winry scene after safely Crossing Steven's Pass tomorrow's train won't be so [Music] lucky as we filmed these scenes in January of 20120 a winter storm warning had been issued for much of the Pacific Northwest bringing several new F feet of snow to Steven's Pass and significant accumulations to the Foothills in skyish that prediction seems to be coming true what little evidence there might be left of a turntable and roundhouse is cloaked in a blanket of white former GN sd9 number 599 quietly weathers the storm while it waits an uncertain fate in the distance the lights of BNSF 901 West appear after limping over Steven's Pass the 90001 had mechanical issues at Meritt and two engines off an eastbound were added to the point so This Crew could continue to Seattle the NSF 7181 and 8210 both GES Aid the aen sd70 AC on the point of a vehicle train [Music] see many towns throughout the West both big and small owe their very existence to the railroad although many have forgotten that Heritage Sky Kish has held on to its identity a great northern themed heral is proudly displayed on the city's utility truck which has has been pressed into snow service it plows East Railroad Street past buildings that are a throwback to the town's Heyday in the early part of the 20th century the nearly 100-year-old Cascadia hotel has welcomed guests rain or shine since 1922 a snowplow of a different kind sits at the ready on a house track near the West switch of skyish this former GN snow Dozer was rebuilt in in Vancouver Washington in about 2009 and dressed in Burlington northern's Cascade green as the snow continues to accumulate on the mountain it should be just a matter of time before the Dozer gets the call the next morning at 6:30 a.m. we return to skyish and find the town is without power numerous downed trees from wet heavy snow have taken their toll on both the town and the railroad flashing lights on nearby signal Huts indicate they are operating on auxiliary batteries two red eyes Mark the West switch of skyish and soon they are replaced with the blinding light of what turned out to be the only freight we would see this day more eastbound empty coal buckets for the Powder River basin [Music] w a lone GE gently leans on the rear draw bar as the crew slowly brings the train to a stop just clear of the Fifth Street north crossing the plan is to meet Amtrak 7 which is running BL out of lenworth a plan that will soon be changing as Amtrak finds itself stranded at Scenic while another winter storm Bears down on Steven's Pass for the next 8 and 1/2 hours nothing else moves through skyish by 2 p.m. the winter storm has intensified with gale force winds and blowing snow Amtrak is stuck at the West switch of Scenic down trees have traffic stopped on Highway 2 a relief engineer was high railed up to the stranded train earlier in the day and now the locomotives from the snow Dozer have been called to bring a relief conductor as well this crew was instructed to take chainsaws along and would end up cutting their way through the downed trees to reach the stranded Dam Trak 7 and again cut their way back the loss of power also meant that switch heaters weren't working furthering delays BNSF used an army of gas generators to power signal Bungalows between bearing and Scenic this one Powers a grade crossing near the East switch of skyish it's at after 3:30 p.m. when BNSF 279 and 291 returned to skyish and enter the sighting BNSF Seattle East dispatcher noted over the radio they had lost the day's battle with the storm the two EMD sd75 eyes would not go back to the snow Dozer but would be called on to shuttle cruise for the next couple of days with the loss of signals and powered switches and with all the mainten of way trying to keep the railroad open the Empire Builder was required to operate on track and time Authority with limits between West Scenic and West Sky comish the radio crackles with activity between maintenance of whe the Seattle East dispatcher and am track [Music] West um with that switch there might be easiest to have you line it reverse and let him sweep it out and have it go back Main polias number seven over seven over okay you're instructed to hand operate the Dual controlled switch at East Sky comish East Sky comish aligning it for your route within your track and time main domain over finally at 4:23 p.m. the lights of amtk 203 West appear in the Gathering desk the Empire Builder is over 9 hours late but is safely off the m Mountain [Music] 3 after a brief stop at the Fifth Street Crossing number seven continues West for Seattle soon to be back on Signal indication and the town of Sky comish prepares for another cold dark Winter's Night traveling on Highway 2 was slow and dangerous with numerous down trees and power lines this big Maple Branch punched out the back window of the vehicle in front of the camera crew fortunately no one was hurt in the incident but it was a long drive back to the motel in Monroe which unlike Sky Kish still had electricity when traveling at night through the bount Baker taly National Forest you might keep your eyes open for bigfoot it's rumored he haunts a coffee shop on Highway 2 near index the coffee is good hot and welcome especially on a night like tonight behind the Marquee sign are lights of a car that has just G in the ditch and all too common occurrence on this night by Daybreak the following morning both Highway 2 and the railroad were closed over Steven's Pass a roadblock was set up at M poost 32 just east of the community of goldar only emergency Personnel railroad workers and some locals were allowed Beyond this point due to numerous down trees and power lines a danger that would continue even after the snow stopped falling with more snow in the forecast both the state of Washington and BNSF were not taking any chances both Amtrak's East and Westbound Empire Builder were cancelled and other trains rerouted over nearby Stampede pass and the Columbia River Gorge we are at Gold Bar elevation 200 ft another eastbound coal empty is tied down in the siding like several other trains on the scenic subdivision the only traffic moving for the next couple of days will be the crew shuttles out of Everett like the approaching BNSF 9919 this 3unit set of vmds is Bound for Sky Kish as it passes M poost [Applause] [Applause] 1756 [Applause] [Applause] later later in the afternoon the trio returns [Applause] West [Applause] moving closer to the east switch of gold bar the pair of sd75i we saw yesterday head past the crossing of Dorman road mile poost [Music] 17549 returning to Gold Bar 2 weeks later a different cold train is tied down in the siding BNSF 3149 is again seen as it Powers The Rock train Bound for skyish it has just retrieved a couple of ballast cars and the Caboose out of a Spur track at the West End of the [Music] siding [Music] continuing our winter Journey over Steven's Pass dusk settles in at the East control point of skyish near M poost 1731 the Seattle East dispatcher has a meet planned and within a few minutes our first train arrives BNSF 7959 drags a stack train through the 8,949 Ft siding and pulls the East switch to clear the Fifth Street crossing in [Music] town w sh after patiently waiting for a few minutes the lights of BNSF 761 West filter through the trees as the train reaches the bottom of the 2.2% descent from scenic [Music] St oh after leaving skyish the heavy grade up the west side of Stevens Pass Begins the railroad turns to the southeast near the headwaters of the South Fork of the skyish river choosing instead to follow the Foss River into a small Canyon looking nearly due south the formations of bald eagle Peak on the left and Silver Eagle Peak on the right loom in the distance while the Foss river is just a little trickle beneath the trees this is steep and rugged country the railroad crosses the canyon on the curved Foss River Bridge originally made of wood when it was first constructed in 1892 it was replaced by this current steel structure in 199 it has always been a popular location for photographing trains over Steven's Pass although over the past several years it has become quite overgrown the NSF 8454 leads a high priority Z train over fos River as it climbs towards [Music] scenic [Music] f [Music] [Music] on a snowy day BNSF 9112 leads an eastbound empty coal train Over The Trestle just out of sight around the curb oh the rear dpu BNSF 9324 shoves the empty coal buckets around the curve at Mile poost 1728 it will be meeting two Westbound at Scenic before continuing through the 7.8m long Cascade tunnel at the summit of Stevens Pass the railroad crosses over a small Creek which empties into the F River at the bottom of the canyon within the hour our first westbound appears BNSF 3887 is in Dynamics holding back the tonnage of a long stack train with International and domestic containers out of Chicago much just before dark BNSF 7059 leads a westbound Z train down the 2.2% grade the steep climb on the West Side brings the railroad over deception Creek bpost 17 21.8 BNSF 7059 leads an intermodal train through the enchanting winter scene watch on January 6th 1893 the last Spike on the Great Northern Railway was driven around 6 mil east of skyish or 13 Mi below the original Summit of Steven's Pass no formal ceremony was held and there was no Golden Spike the railroad was simply completed the first schedule train t come through until the following summer reaching skyish on June 18th a pair of remote controlled engines have been added to the rear of this train jvo number 5537 and-9 number 5133 showing signs of a recent engine fire Scenic is the final sighting on the west side of Stevens Pass these signals guard the East switch of the 9,259 Ft siding while the looming figure of cowboy Mountain Towers above the West Portal of cascade tunnel is just out of view around the curve at this point the grade lessens from 2.2% to 1.77% as it enters a tunnel the lights of a westbound appear as BNSF 761 exits the 41,100 Ft bore it is framed by the supports of the Highway 2 Bridge the highway crests Stevens Pass over 1,000 ft higher I [Music] he ch [Music] I while filming on location for two weeks in January and February of 2020 we only encountered one sunny day on the mountain and this is it Sunday February 2nd which happens to be Groundhog Day while punks Aton Phil predicted an early spring this year by not seeing his shadow we found plenty of Shadows here at Scenic as BNSF 7498 heads for the subm of Steven's [Music] Pass sh [Music] get after crossing the fos River Trestle the railroad charts a course above the Thai River to reach Steven's Pass that course leads around the southern base of windy Mountain where an older grade climbed through a series of snow sheds to reach the original Cascade tunnel at Wellington over 500 ft higher than the current tunnel at Mile poost 17081 the West Portal of the Cascade tunnel is around 2/10 of a mile from the station of East Scenic following the old Cascade highway from Highway 2 we snowshoed in about a third of a mile to get these scenes BNSF 6506 takes a Chicago bound Z train into the 7.8m long Cascade [Music] tunnel go [Music] while eastbound trains work their way upgrade through the tunnel fans Force fresh air through the boore for both locomotives and crew once the train has cleared a tunnel flush cycle begins to purge the bore of smoke before the next train can enter the cycle takes up to 30 minutes and if you look closely you can see smoke exiting the boore during the cycle while waiting for the tunnel flush to complete an eastbound empty coal train slowly comes to a stop near the East switch of Scenic soon our next westbound move comes into view a Kershaw ballast regulator fitted with a nose plow these versatile machines are primarily used for grooming ballast and are often seen working in tandem with a tamper but they can push snow just as easily this machine is working West from Meritt and will head to Sky Kish after meeting another bigger snow plow here at Scenic with the regulator out of the way the empty Roberts Bank Coal Train continues its Eastward move toward Wyoming's Powder River Basin three emds power this Co train on the point two sd70 AC and a classic sd70 Mac the three two-stroke diesels wind up as the train enters the main track underneath Highway [Applause] 2 [Applause] while the cold train TR sat in the sighing the regulator shoved snow off the main track to the West switch as it picked up speed the train was blasted with heavy wet snow as evidenced by the big white mark on the side of the [Music] Hoppers [Music] a lone GE shoves the rear of the empty coold Train by remote control the NSF 6382 is an es44 AC built in 2009 with the cold train clear of the sighting the BN snow Dozer we saw in Sky Kish approaches clearing the rest of the snow not plowed by the regulator unfortunately for us the Dozer only had track in time to the east switch of Scenic so this was as close to a runby as we were going to get a stuck road grader prevented the camera crew from getting any closer all part of the challenge of filming in Winter on Steven's Pass railroading in Stevens Pass has always been challenging before the new Cascade tunnel was completed in 1929 the GN clung to the lower reaches of of windy Mountain a series of snow sheds can still be seen from alongside Highway 2 below the summit these sheds were necessary to protect the rail line which cuts through several Avalanche shoes on March 1st 1910 two stranded trains were swept by an avalanche down the canyon into the Thai River this image was taken the morning after it happened at what used to be the town of Willington the midnight Avalanche took the lives of 96 people after the disaster the town's name was changed to tie and abandoned altogether when the new Cascade tunnel was built today it is part of the iron Goat Trail and its remains can be visited during the summer months Highway 2 crosses the summit of Stevens Pass at over 4,000 ft above sea level while the railroad passes deep within the mountain nearly 12200 ft below the new Cascade tunnel shaved 8.7 Mi off the older rout and greatly reduced the danger of avalanches common to the pass the East portal of cascade tunnel is mile poost 1700.00 an eastbound empty coal train is currently inside the red and white checkered door is closed and the tunnel fans are running at low speed to provide fresh air for both locomotives and crew the fans are powered by two 800 horse electric motors as the train gets to within 6 Mi of the East portal the door opens creating a brief blizzard as the fans wind [Music] down within a few minutes BNSF 6316 exits Cascade tunnel with an eastbound empty coal train sh the train slowly exits the tunnel in anticipation of a meat with a westbound which is just entering the sighting of burn just east of here the train in question is the same rack train we caught at skyish that was experiencing locomotive issues the 636 soon gets a green and the empty coal Hoppers pick up speed down the east side of Steven's Pass soon BNSF 901 West heads into the tunnel with the help of the two additional diesel the vertical features of the Washington Cascades can seem to make them unsuitable for building a railroad yet here we are near mpost 1694 where the scenic subdivision crosses n Creek the small river is running full with snow melt from a barrage of storms that have been hitting the Pacific Northwest since the winter began the Rushing Water nearly drowns out the sound of an eastbound Z as it heads down the 2.2% descending grade between burn and Merit [Music] all trains continue down the East slope of Steven's Pass following n Creek through a widening Valley to the southeast at mil poost 16924 we find the former GN station of Meritt this was once the site of a small town centered around the Meritt hotel and general store which like the town has faded into the past it was a popular place to hunt and fish a talc mine was located nearby and a nearby wet bog was found to contain high-grade kerosene oil today only a few houses remain along with a Y track for turning maintenance of whe equipment like the Kershaw plow we saw earlier BNSF 5686 East passes the West switch of Merit having reached the bottom of the 2.2% grade from the East portal of the Cascade tunnel faster running lies [Music] [Music] ahead [Music] [Music] [Applause] the [Music] with a heavy grade behind the stack train accelerates as the track speed increases from 25 to 45 mph two radio controled units add power to the rear of the train including the NS 7546 a GE es40 DC unlike the standard 4400 horsepower rating these locomotives are capable of the norfol Southern op to lower the power output to conserve fuel the output change is done electronically while mechanically these units are essentially the same as their 4,400 horsepower brethren another winter storm off the Pacific blankets the Cascades increasing the Avalanche danger in the higher reaches of Steven's Pass Merritt is safely away from the danger but not yet out of Winter's grip by rail we are roughly 16 mi from the East bore of the Cascade tunnel and we have lost nearly 700 ft in elevation putting us at 2,192 FT above sea level a high green shows from the signal bridge at the West End of Meritt for BNSF 7061 West although out of sequence we first saw this train making a nighttime meet at skyish and again at scenic sh f Stacks Auto racks empty coal and oil trains are common on the scenic subdivision as for mixed manifest trains there are two you can count on the Everett topok can and its counterpart today's M SPO rolls through a curve at n Creek the train continues toward Winton and then on to lenworth where it will meet its counterpart a former Long View fiber Sawmill sits silently along the main line at Winton the mill closed in 2006 but during its Heyday employed over 100 people and was served by the BNSF the snow has turned to rain on this cool February morning but the signals are hot at East Winton all red means a westbound is line through here after the meet at lenworth BNSF 7587 leads the daily mpo EV past the Mills grade crossing on the [Applause] [Music] main oh east of Winton the Great Northern Mainline used to run South toward lenworth through the very Scenic tumat Canyon the Swift Rapids of the wachi river provided the course through the mountains as well as power for the electrified portion of the railroad through the original Cascade tunnel the project was completed in 1910 and the dam and nearby power plant served the railroad until a newer improved system was built in 1927 with the opening of the new Cascade tunnel electric operation extended over the hill for nearly 73 route miles between skyish and wachi around this time the railroad was realigned east of wion bypassing Tumwater Canyon in favor of the chumstick river to the east The Old Road bed through tumat Canyon now gives Highway 2 access to lenworth the newer alignment crosses River Road and the wachi river near mpost 1681 BNSF 6912 heads East toward [Music] lenworth oh south of the rural community of plain the wachi river meanders through the mountainous region these Eastern foothills of the Cascades are blanketed in the timber of the wachi national forest which encompasses over 1,735 th000 Acres a westbound z9 the highest priority on the BNSF is heard approaching and with our 400t tall flying tripod we get a nice perspective as it crosses the wachi river [Music] sh yeah [Music] [Music] [Music] as the train disappears to the West it passes through the swed tunnel and Winton tunnel on the 1.55% grade to Winton in 1892 the construction of the Great Northern Railway through Tumwater Canyon brought many settlers to a townsite along the wachi river known as icicle Flats it grew to become the regional headquarters for the GN and was officially Incorporated on September 5th 1906 as lenworth later the railroad relocated to wachi in 1925 a major blow to the to the town leavenworth's Bavarian Village Theme came about in the 1960s as a way to boost tourism and save the town 60 years later it is safe to say the idea worked more than a million people flocked to lenworth each year and the town holds festivals nearly every month these local residents don't seem to mind and although they are cautious they soon are more than happy to show off their Prime piece of real estate with a nice view of the Waterfront Park on Blackbird Island nestled among the Alpine Hills the setting could not be better the former Railroad in logging town has a charm one has to see in person to experience here you will find what the town describes as a mixture of Bavarian authenticity and Northwest Hospitality in the winter after the sun goes down lenworth takes on a whole new appearance every year between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day the city keeps her Christmas lights on and bright for travelers along Highway 2 it is impossible to miss the holiday Dazzle on display at Front Street Park and it's not just at the park it's all around everywhere you look after seeing the hard work and great Dedication that went into creating the village the amtr depot was well somewhat of a let down L worth icicle station is just a portable building on Runners although it still meets the city's code am TRS Empire Builder calls on icicle station at 6:00 a.m. going west and 8:00 p.m. going east an eastbound of a different kind is approaching us now BNSF 5157 leads another M SPO into the sighting at lenworth to meet a stack train before continuing on to wachi [Applause] [Music] a set of emds are found in this locomotive contest including this old Warrior the BNSF 9899 this sd70 ma was built for the BNSF in 1998 and is one of 119 70 Maxs built by EMD between 1993 and 2004 when they were replaced by the 70 acce okay as a train continues East it leaves the mountain grades and heavy snow of the Washington Cascades behind after a crew change at wachi the train will embark on the final leg of its Journey East to Spokane on the Columbia River subdivision but that's a story for another day in the meantime our final train of the day is approaching BNSF 7682 leads a westbound stack train for for Seattle on the main at lenworth en the long string of stacks moves swiftly and easily past the Amtrak platform and into the chumstick valley the steel Highway twisting winding and lifting it ever higher toward a crossing of the Cascade Mountains a place of breathtaking Beauty seconded only by the challenge of working there a challenge that goes by the name winter on Stevens Pass as always until next time thanks for watching

Channel: 7idea Productions

Views: 174,432

Keywords: BNSF, WInter, Stevens Pass, Washington, Cascades, Tunnel, Skykomish, Blizzard, Snow, Mountains, Beautiful, Train, Railroad, Locomotive, Amtrak, Leavenworth

Id: 0Ygaiz49zUg

Length: 102min 56sec (6176 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 13 2024